Helicopter Hazard

What's he done? Landed on your roof? Flown by at 4am blasting music? Dropped bombs on your car? Dropped in and snatched up your pets? Scooped water from the ocean in a big heli-bucket and dumped it in your yard? Seriously, enlighten me on what he's done. I bet it's simply that he's made noise from time to time and interupted your god-given right to utter silence 24 hours a day. That's it, isn't it?

You know what's really annoying? People like you who come here and expect everything to be like it was in their gated communities in the suburbs. Perhaps you should consider the BVI's or STJ. There are plenty of people just like you there. And, none of them have helicopters!

Another thing that's annoying: people that wear sandals with socks on. They should die. lol

Let's end the discussion of who should die.

Well, I didn't start this thread so we could all start bashing each other. The helicopter that flew over mine and the childrens heads was very low. In my opinion and hubbys who was on the beach it was under 100 feet. It came in low and fast and did a banked turn right over our heads. I didn't even hear it coming it was so fast. I saw hubby running towards us, felt the vibration looked up and saw skids directly over us and so close that I felt like I could grab the skids and I grabbed the kids and ducked. I did not personally see what color it was. By the time I recovered the bird was gone. I hope that never happens to me again. I was terrified. Helicopters don't bother me, other than the fact that they don't glide. The noise doesn't bother me, safe jet skiers don't bother me, boats don't bother me. What happened to us on the beach scares the hell out of me. In my opinion no helicopter should fly low over people on the beach or the water unless they are rescuing someone. Maybe there are some other exceptions I just can't think of any at the moment. Flying off shore away from people and maybe close enough to wave, well, to each his own. Safety should be the primary concern of any pilot.

You know I am really not a sissy girl but this has shaken me up so much that when I think about it my heart pounds. Really not a nice feeling. Ok, I am done other than I really hope that the person who did that doesn't do it again.

What beach where you guys at when this happened? We use to live in the Gentle Winds and the green helicopter guy is friends with some other resident that lives there. He would fly around every now and then to say hi to his buddy. I wish he would have landed that thing there in the open field next to the putting green; my little boy would have had a hay day. He loves planes, trains, cars, helicopters, and boats. Mr. Green helicopter guy enjoy your hobby; you weren’t put on this earth to please everyone.

trw, fer chrissakes relax! You need a couple shots of mamawanna followed by about six bongloads of grass

And you just wished trw dead with that remark.

As for roaring out of nowhere and buzzing the beach... yes, 3 or 4 times a week (or less) and typically in the afternoons between 2 and 5pm he makes a trip around the island counterclockwise, for a total time of about 1 hour.

So is this routine strictly recreational or is it some sort of every other day patrol looking for something in particular?
In an official capacity of some sort?

trw, fer chrissakes relax! You need a couple shots of mamawanna followed by about six bongloads of grass

And you just wished trw dead with that remark.

OMG, you really believe that mammawanna and grass kills people? Get out of the house more, lol.

You know I am really not a sissy girl but this has shaken me up so much that when I think about it my heart pounds.

Honestly, and I'm not trying to be mean, but I frankly think you are a bit of a sissy girl. I mean seriously -- a helicopter emerges from over the horizon, passes 100 feet over your head and it "terrifies" you and "makes your heart pound"? That just seems like such an overreaction. Haven't you ever seen a helicopter before? I just don't understand what scared you so much. Did you think the helicopter was after you or something?

If a helicopter passing 100 feet overhead scares you so much, then what happens when a car zooms by you on south shore road going 60MPH in the other direction? That car is less than 10 feet from you. You must be near catatonic.

Your chances of dying everytime you get behind the wheel of a car are about 1 million times greater than death by helicopter ambush.

Tam, said that she was holding kids in her hands, and she felt that he helicopter was close enough for her to grab the skids. I would have been terrified. For myself and for the kids. Her husband was alarmed enough for him to try to come out to where she was. Unless he's landing I don't think that he should be flying so close to people, when children are around. Some kids might like it, and others might be totally afraid of the noise.

NugBlazer--She said the helicopter was under a 100 feet which could be anywhere from 0-100 feet. She also said that the skids were directly above her. I have seen this helicopter fly low and I have no doubt that she might have been scared--perhaps since the thing was so low she thought it was trying to land and didn't see here or something? Who knows? Anyway, she was scared as a lot of other people might be if they see a helicopter coming down right on top of them--or just "perceived" that helicopter to be coming down on them--especially when holding a baby. Maternal instinct to protect can be pretty strong--perhaps that factored in to the strong reaction too.

That helicopter does fly low and does really tight turnarounds near people, especially on beaches (I'm always at rainbow and that's where I see him). If he were to lose power at those low altitudes, he'd have a hard time controlling the emergency landing (so I've been told by both a helicopter pilot and an airplane pilot)--injuring people on the ground, probably seriously injuring himself and his passengers. That's why there are recommended altitudes for flying--to give enough height to have as much opportunity to control an emergency landing as possible. Most likely his helicopter is pretty stable and in good shape, but you still don't take chances and err on the side of caution, rather than taking unnecessary risk--especially when there are people on the ground.

Well NugBlazer, you don't know me or my background before I came to this beautiful island so it is ok if you think I am a sissy girl. It would make my family and friends roar with laughter. Yes I am quite familiar with helicopters. Cruzkandy, I couldn't have grab the skids but it felt like I could. In my estimation without anyway to measure the distance and the quickness of the event, believe the helicopter was 60 to 75 feet above our heads. In any case I am done with the subject.

sissy girl. ROTFLMAO

I'm having a hard time understanding the emotion that this subject has brought up. As a child I used to love it when we got time off classes at school to go and watch the "Blue Eagles" (a military helicopter display team). The more daring their antics, the more fun it was. They used to go into dives with all different coloured smoke coming from them. I was nowhere close to being a "tomboy", but loved it none the less.

Now where a very young child is concerned, I'm sure it could be a different story. I'm not an expert on children, but I know that most dogs/horses are petrified of such things. In some places they use the absolutely disgusting practice of terrifying animals (usually wolves or horses) with helicopters, chasing them to run in the open where they can shoot at them and kill them from the comfort of their seats.
Those are the people I wish evil things for, not the poor guy having fun in his helicopter.

OMG, you really believe that mammawanna and grass kills people? Get out of the house more, lol.

It sure will if you're alcoholic.

Here's what I think the issues really are:
- when you drive on the road, you're expecting to see other folks coming at you. And since this has been going on for years now without everyone crashing, statistically the chances of injury have proven to be low, so you don't feel threatened (but you ALWAYS drive defensively).
- when a helo just quickly appears and is 100 ft or lower this is a major surprise. If helos were as prevalent as cars, we'd be accustomed to them. Not only are helos not as prevalent as cars; we rarely see them at 100 ft or lower over populated areas. So, the fact that people are concerned doesn't surprise me a bit.
- the helo pilot is nice and high (even at 100 ft) and has a very good view of what's coming, So, from his viewpoint there is no danger of accidently crashing into something. Yes, something could go wrong with the helo; but, even at 500 ft high he might not be able to avoid people on the ground.
- some people spook easily and some people don't.
- if the helo pilot feels that the letter of the law is all that matters, then I'm guessing that someone will find some stupid law to shut him down... live by the sword, die by the sword.

I'd like to think that the helo pilot would be somewhat sensitive to his neighbors, and could find a slightly more "comfortable" distance without losing any enjoyment. I don't mind people saying that they hate helos; but I doubt the "average" person would be willing to legislate away helos (where would that end). But, I think most people would agree that spooking the "average" person is indication that the activity should probably be questioned (I don't get spooked by fireworks, but people who have been to Iraq do... I'd gladly move my fireworks for them, if asked, because their comfort is far more important to me than where I enjoy my fireworks).

It's quite possible that this is just a local issue, and the real issues behind this have not surfaced... if that's the case, then totally disregard my post.

IMHO

I've read here for months but never created an account or posted...until now.
This whole thread is fairly toxic and somewhat ridiculous.
A couple of comments have been made about helicopters not "gliding" or not being in control in an emergency. I have been in a helicopter that was performing an emergency landing procedure. I can tell you that helicopters do glide and go down in a very controlled manner and much slower than I expected. My father is a licensed fixed wing pilot and I would much rather be dealing with a helicopter than an airplane during an emergency landing - whether while in it OR on the ground.
One thing that I did not see made clear is what beach, what day and time the issue that started this all happened. The past several days there have been other helicopters flying around STX. One black one, in particular, I saw today flying very low (still within the regs though) obviously searching for something. It seems to me some people are jumping on a bandwagon to bash one person who likely is not responsible for the behavior that started this whole thing.
BTW - I find the minor interruption of a helicopter flying by much less annoying than the music played at all hours and decibels by my neighbors and being told by the police to live with it. Or sitting at Buck Island to enjoy a nice afternoon when a nearby boat cranks up the music while the people go yards up the beach to set up camp while we have to shout to speak to each other. I think a couple of minutes of interruption is a very minor thing in the grand scheme of things. Can't we all just get along?!?!?

hey roto. i think you'll remember us chatting back and forth in PM's a couple of months ago... would you be willing to give me a tour of the island in the chopper? that would be great. not trying to make any enemies here with the folks who don't like roto flying, but hey, if he's gonna fly, he's gonna fly. and i'd like to take a ride. or is it one of those little one-man helicopters... ? let me know roto. i'll be there july 2.

So we pretty much agree then...

Bad:
Loud blaring boats
Jet Skis
Cars driving way too fast
Helicopter Blades 60 ft over your head
Low Blood Sugar
War in Iraq
Global Warming
John McCain

did I miss anything?

wapa

Smokers, especially at restaurants and bars.

Liars.

"i think someone has a pic of the guy flying and drinking a beer at the same time."

What is your source? Oh Yeah, that PM that was accidentally posted then removed.

I think if you read the AVIS today (friday the 13th) and you recall that rotorhead said he does some work for VIPD you will have your answer. He's been scouting out the marijuana patches!

Sorry to disappoint you but the helicopter flying around St Croix this week is a Army Guard OH-58 Kiowa. They are working with the VIPD on a drug bust. I haven't flown around St Croix since last Sunday.

I'm sure that I will get blamed though because NO ONE LIKES ME.

I was hoping that Tam was going to step up and admit that she was the source for the rumor about me drinking while flying. I saw the PM that you accidentally posted then had deleted. It was posted for several hours before being removed so a few of us read it. In that post you claimed to have a photo of me flying during Mardi Croix with a beer in my hand. trw then picked up on this two posts later and repeated the rumor.

Please either post the picture that you claim to have or be honest enough to admit that you fabricated the story.

John

John, go to picasaweb.google.com. These are the only pics that I have seen of you flying. They do not belong to me but were published on the message board after Mardi Croix by my brother in law, a professional photographer. I apologise to you for any distress that any post of mine has caused you. I personally have no knowledge of you drinking anything while flying. I do not know you or know if you drink or not.

The helicopter flying over my house today in Cotton Valley was part of a drug bust along with multiple on the ground vehicles. I didn't not see Rotos helicopter.

John it seems many people like you.

Fly safe please.

Thank you Tam. I looked at those pictures when you first mentioned them months ago. The helicopter in the pictures is mine. That's why I knew that your reference to drinking while flying during Mardi Croix referred to me.

What I don't understand is why you felt it necessary to accuse me of drinking and flying and then allowing trw to continue the deception without correcting him. No one had mentioned drinking and flying until your post. I take that very seriously and I felt that I was unfairly being accused of committing a federal offense that could result in the revocation of my pilots certificate. People should be careful about making false accusations.

John

This is not trws fault. I will PM you with my brother in laws number you can ask him for the pictures he will know what you are talking about. We need to let this one go and move on.